New Year, New Marketing Resolutions

As the New Year is just ‘round the corner, most of us have started making our “New Year’s Resolutions.” Most of these pertain to healthy living, improving our career, furthering our education or even establishing a new business. These are all personal resolutions, but have you given a thought to your marketing goals for 2016?

Marketing trends change every year, as do customer needs and expectations. There’s never an end to market research and, of course, there’s never an end to new ideas on how to gain more customers! So here are a few New Year’s resolutions your business can take note of in order to boost your 2016 marketing plans.

1. Understand your audience.

“Your customer doesn’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care”
-Damon Richards

If you found it difficult to appeal to new customers in 2015, then conduct research on what your potential customers are looking for. As modern marketing continues to transform traditional marketing, gathering information on consumer behaviors is easier than ever before. Online tools and applications make it easy for digital marketers to study what a customer is doing online and how they can be reached.

2. Let’s Get Social.

“We don’t have a choice on whether we DO social media; the question is “How Well We Do It.” -Erik Qualman

This should be at the top of your business’s 2016 resolution list. It should also be your marketing department’s motto. In 2015, social platforms were rock star performers for generating new business. That’s going to continue in 2016 as social media continues to be an affordable and effective marketing tool.

Social media is great for keeping customers engaged with your quality products and services. You don’t want a first-time customer to buy your product and then disappear. Instead, set goals that allow your social media plans to better engage customers. Find ways to encourage shoppers to refer your products or services to their friends and family. If 2015 wasn’t your year for making the best of social media marketing, then do it in 2016. It’s not late to begin!

Updating your business’s website content helps search engines find your products and services. It’s also a good way to provide useful information to potential customers. People are looking online for more information about products and services than ever before. If they find your website relevant they are more likely to refer your business to their friends and social media followers. Developing well-written online content can be the difference your business needs to convert online traffic to sales.

4. Learn from Your Mistakes.

“Mistakes have the power to turn you into something better than you were before.”
– Unknown

Everyone makes mistakes, including business decision makers. The key is to learn from them. There is more to goo marketing than a great idea. Some of the best marketing ideas fail because they are not properly executed. So take a look at what didn’t work so well for your business in 2015 and consider ways to implement a more effective plan in 2016. Consider what your competition is doing well and find ways to counter their activity.

There are many marketing resolutions your business could go after in 2016. These are only a few to get your 2016 marketing plans rolling in the digital world!